Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 23,859 Shares of Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. $MCB

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its ownership in Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. by 3.7%, now holding 6.28% of the bank's shares valued at approximately $37.47 million.
• Metropolitan Bank announced a $50 million stock buyback program as part of its strategy, suggesting the board believes shares are undervalued.
• The bank reported earnings of $1.76 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, while revenues reached $76.27 million, surpassing analyst estimates.

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB - Free Report) by 3.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 669,219 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 23,859 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 6.28% of Metropolitan Bank worth $37,470,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCB. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in Metropolitan Bank by 25.4% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 6,511 shares of the company's stock valued at $380,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 29,051 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,697,000 after buying an additional 2,335 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 24,013 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,401,000 after buying an additional 552 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 291,235 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,008,000 after buying an additional 41,449 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 6,239 shares of the company's stock valued at $364,000 after buying an additional 556 shares during the period. 79.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Metropolitan Bank from $81.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Hovde Group increased their price target on Metropolitan Bank from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $82.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Harvey Gutman sold 1,400 shares of Metropolitan Bank stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.41, for a total transaction of $109,774.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 18,743 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,469,638.63. The trade was a 6.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Nick Rosenberg sold 1,250 shares of Metropolitan Bank stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.05, for a total transaction of $93,812.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 29,589 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,220,654.45. This represents a 4.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 78,077 shares of company stock valued at $5,406,205. Insiders own 6.09% of the company's stock.

Metropolitan Bank Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE MCB traded up $0.08 during trading on Monday, hitting $79.49. The stock had a trading volume of 57,642 shares, compared to its average volume of 59,172. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $828.32 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.88 and a beta of 1.16. Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. has a one year low of $47.08 and a one year high of $80.46. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.51.

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $76.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.50 million. Metropolitan Bank had a net margin of 13.68% and a return on equity of 10.69%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.50 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Metropolitan Bank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 28th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 28th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Metropolitan Bank's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.72%.

Metropolitan Bank declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, July 17th that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Metropolitan Bank Profile

Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Metropolitan Commercial Bank that provides a range of business, commercial, and retail banking products and services to small businesses, middle-market enterprises, public entities, and individuals in the New York metropolitan area.